Letter: Proud of all of Wayne's spellers

Published: March 16, 2013 4:00AM

Editor:

We are writing to express our dismay and disappointment in the articles by Paul Locher about the Regional Spelling Bee that was held March 9. The first article, published Sunday, March 10, was actually last year's information. This article proclaimed a Medina student the winner, and the second paragraph contained a snarky sentence stating none of the Wayne County spellers made it to the end of the Bee. The author did manage to insert a correct listing of the eight students from this year, but obviously gave no thought to the accuracy of what was being submitted beyond that.

The second article, published Monday, March 11, was more thoughtfully and accurately written, correctly citing Jeremy Lun, of Dalton, as the champion of this year's Bee. There was also mention of the runner up, Veronica Velasquez and our son, Lucas, both from Wooster, however, none of the other five contestants were named.

We find this to be an inexcusable omission, as these kids also deserve to be recognized for their efforts. When there were but five spellers left standing this year, three of them were from Wayne County. Furthermore, the one photograph that accompanied this article was a lovely shot of Jeremy and his parents; the remainder of the Wayne County contestants were not pictured anywhere.

In an adjacent article, however, readers were treated to no less than six photos of an horrific gunshot wound, stitches, and X-rays. Six. We would like to extend our congratulations to Jeremy and Veronica, and wish them the very best of luck as they travel to Washington, D.C., to compete in the National Spelling Bee later this spring. We are so very proud of you. And to the remaining contestants -- Max Zaremba, John Schuller, Lucas Lindenmuth, Brady Troyer, Brayden Porter and Nathan Smith -- congratulations to each of you.